Realtors help renters move into homes with new program

Las Vegan Angelais Hampton had just about everything she needed to move into a new home -- except the money to cover the required security deposit.

Due to an $80,000 grant from two Realtor associations and a program administered by the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority, Hampton received a check for $1,300 to pay all necessary deposits and moved into a rented home.

Hampton, who works in housekeeping at Wynn Las Vegas, is the first person to qualify for the Security Deposit Loan program in Las Vegas. The single mother of four children said she doesn't think she could have rented her five-bedroom home in the northern part of Las Vegas without the interest-free security deposit loan.

"Being single, I didn't have the $1,300 to move in right now," she said.

Funding for this program comes from Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors and Nevada Association of Realtors, which received an $80,000 Ira Gribin Workforce Housing Grant from the National Association of Realtors. GLVAR and NVAR recently presented $49,600 from the grant to the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority to support workforce housing initiatives in the region and state. The remainder of the $80,000 grant will be given to similar programs to be determined at a later date, according to GLVAR officials.

GLVAR President Rick Shelton said GLVAR members "hope this grant will help many other working families access quality public housing."

"Realtors build communities and care about the high cost of housing and the lack of affordable, decent homes available to working families," said Linda Rheinberger, NVAR president.

For more information on the Realtors Security Deposit program, contact Zelda Ellis at 922-7020 or visit snvrha.org or nvar.org or lasvegasrealtor.com. For more information on the grant, visit realtor.org.